An emergency medical waste treatment plant in Chongqing, China; a plan that engages citizens in the COVID-19 emergency response in Dannieh, Lebanon, an ordinance that increases density, public revenues, and ecological efficiency in Quito, Ecuador; a participative process to develop a strategy for children and youth in Vienna, Austria; and the collaborative work of three municipalities to restore a threatened and vital mangrove in Saint Louis, Senegal.
These were the five initiatives that won the highest prizes of the latest edition of the Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation, whose ceremony took place last 12 November, on the occasion of the closing event of the 13th World Congress of the World Association of Metropolis and the 2021 Global Mayors' Forum.
Odisha, in India, claimed the honour of "Online Popular City" with its Urban Wage Employment Initiative.
According to Yu Keping, chairman of the fifth Guangzhou Award jury, the selection criteria for the award-winning projects by the jury members are innovation, participation, influence, importance, replicability, learnability, and inclusiveness.
In 2012, to advance global urban governance and innovative development, Guangzhou, UCLG and Metropolis created the Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation, which is held every two years. Each cycle of the Guangzhou Award has counted applications from more than 150 local and regional governments in more than 50 countries, and has so far collected more than 1,300 cases of urban innovation from all over the world, providing significant references for the overall enhancement of urban governance capacity.
You can learn more about 66 of the most remarkable cases of all editions of the Guangzhou Award at the use platform.